Transmission Problems: The Prose
by Kiwi Lee Scipio
Summary: In between seasons, Jérémie and Aélita are designing a way to move around Lyoko more quickly, there are some kinks that need to be worked out. Meanwhile on Earth, Mr. Delmas has decided to impose a new smart-athletic uniform that Xana uses in his next attack. Co-written with TheArchivis. The Script: /s/12932434/1/Transmission-Problems-The-Script-Version
1. Chapter 1 Overcube

Chapter 1

Overcube

"Aélita, can you read me?" Jérémie asked, the sound of keys depressing in quick succession filling his ears. He quickly fiddled with the mike attached to the ear piece on his ear, trying to find where it was most conferrable.

"Ready, Jérémie," Aélita said.

"Okay, Aélita," Jérémie said, running through the line of code he had tested earlier in the day on his laptop. He watched as the mix of letters and numbers, measurements and place holder colors, filled into the window on the main screen. Getting to the end of what he had tested he said," I'm virtualizing vehicle proto-type number one…" He finished typing in the code, quickly scanning his eyes over the window, and hovered his pinky over the return key. Pressing it, he said, "Now."

Jérémie watched as the code on screen ran through, as if being processed from the top and disappearing into Lyoko. Once the last line of code disappeared, a new window appeared, showing an ID card similar to that of his friends. Where there should be a picture of what it belonged to was a question mark, reminding Jérémie he needed to add that.

The sound of wonderful laughter came from the speakers around the screen, getting his attention back to the window with Aélita's yellow triangle. A small smile pulled at his cheeks as he sat, confused as to what was funny. "I don't get it. What is it?"

"Jérémie," Aélita said, her voice full of laughter that made Jérémie's small smile grow. "It's a flying cube!"

"What?" Jérémie's smile faltered, realizing he hadn't programed what shape it would take.

Aélita shifted her weight as she stood in a clearing of the desert, a hand resting on her hip as she smiled at what was before her. A featureless white cube, a meter in size, floated above the yellow ground. "I'm being serious. I'll send you a visual," Aélita said, reaching into the familiar code that made up the world around her.

Connecting her sight to Jérémie's screen, a window appeared before Jérémie showing him what she saw. Jérémie's smile quickly fell into a pout.

"Ok, so it needs a little tweakin-" Jérémie cut himself off as two red icons appeared on Jérémie's map. He glanced up at the screens above him to call up their ID cards. "Aélita! Three Kankrelats at twelve o'clock! Use the flying cube to get out of there!"

Aélita looked past the cube, her smile evaporating as she disconnected her visuals from Jérémie's screen. Dropping quickly behind the flying cube as the first laser appeared, she looked up at the sky to ask, "How am I supposed to pilot a flying cube?!"

"How am I supposed to know? It's a _cube_ , there aren't flying cubes in the real world!" Jérémie's panicked disembodied voice called out to her.

"You made it!" Aélita pointed out.

Jérémie grabbed a fist full of his blonde hair, trying to urge his brain to work quicker. He dropped his hands back to the keyboard, pulling up a detailed layout of the desert sector to the holomap beside him. He saw where Aélita was as the three Kankrelats approached from the west. Quickly scanning his eyes over the holomap, he found what he was looking for along a pathway in the east. "Aélita, there's a way tower to the east of you, try to use the cube to get there!"

Aélita took her eyes away from the shooting Kankrelats to drop down onto her knees, letting out a note as she let herself connect into the data that created Lyoko. A rock wall created itself between her and the three monsters, stopping a laser in its newly constructed surface. She opened her eyes to take in her new creation before smiling as she got to her feet. She jumped up so that she could sit on top of the cube, it bobbing up and down as it got adjusted to her weight. She leaned to the right, trying to find a way to be conferrable on a cube, only to have it send her in that direction with her. She quickly sat straight, glancing down to see she was now hovering over the Digital Sea. "So that's how you wanna play," Aélita mumbled, leaning back to the left to send herself and the cube back onto land. She tried to command the cube to stop, seeing the end of her newly constructed rock wall coming to an end only to stop just past it.

The swivel of a Kankrelat got her attention as the first of three noticed her. It's friends not far behind in realizing where she now was. In quick secession, three lasers shot at her, one making contact with the cube's corner.

Aélita did her best to try and grip the edges of the cube as the thing started to spin with the impact. She leaned back, hoping to send it in a direction only for it to take off. She glanced over her shoulder, finding where the tower was as the cube started driving her there, backwards. A shot flying by her remind her of her enemies, getting her to look forward at them. A ghost of a smile came across her face as she watched their little legs try and keep up.

"How are you flying it?" Jérémie asked, worry still evident in his voice.

Aélita leaned quickly to her right, ducking under a blast that was aimed for her shoulder. She glanced behind her to see the tower coming up close, keeping herself leaning backwards to fly towards it. "It appears to be motion based. It's be kinda fun if I wasn't being shot at," Aélita admitted, the cube wanting to rotate again now that Aélita was looking behind herself. She quickly turned back to face the running Kankrelats, straightening out the cube. She smiled as a playfulness came over her, letting out a laugh as Lyoko's wind brushed passed her.

Without her realizing it, she quickly went into the tower, the feeling of going through something so fast wiping the smile off her face. She quickly turned to look where she was going only to fly straight into the tower's wall of code on the inside. She gripped the cube with her fingers as best as she could, there not being much to grab, as she made impact with the wall. She looked down only for the cube to bob under her, it wanting to go somewhere still. She held on as tight as she could as the cube took that as an order to drop, sending her falling into the data flow below.

She let gravity take its control, along with the cube, as she was sent back upwards and out of the tower again at high speed. She opened her eyes to see she was now in the ice sector as she was sped to the edge of the platform. "I think I'm getting the hang of it," Aélita admitted, leaning to make sure she stayed above platform. "But I can't figure out how to stop." She looked forward only for her eyes to widen as an outcropping of ice loomed ahead of her. "How do I stop!?"

"All I can do to it is devirtualize it," Jérémie admitted, panic in his voice.

Aélita quickly leaned backwards, hoping to at least slow herself down. Instead it did a quick reverse, sending her back towards the tower. She started shifting her weight back and forth from left to right only to send the cube spinning. She stopped and did her best to hold still, slowly coming to a bobbing halt. Taking this as her chance, she jumped off and turned back to eye the cube as it devirtualized.

"Clearly it needs more work," Jérémie admitted, typing away at the keyboard. He looked back at the holomap of the desert sector to see the three Kankrelats circle the tower once before disappearing from sight. He turned back to look at the screens in front of him and asked, "Do you feel any of Xana's pulsations?"

Aélita threw a quick glance around her before sitting down on the snowy ground, closing her eyes to let the world around her filter into her senses. After a moment she opened her eyes and said, "No, all's quiet except for the Kankrelats that just wanted to say hi."

"You wanna come to Earth for lunch?" Jérémie asked, his cheeks quickly gaining color as he stared hopefully at the screen.

Aélita's face appeared in front of him, a smile pulling at her features. "Of course, Jérémie."

AN: This story all started with one sentence TheArchivis said to me one day when we were talking. "I'm imagining that Aelita had some input on designing the vehicles just because she was able to actually see what he created. His first attempt is just a floating cube, and Aelita insists that they need something more ergonomic... I mean, this isn't supported by canon at all, Jeremie can and does sometimes get a visual of Lyoko through one of the warriors' eyes, but it's a funny idea." Which led to me writing a short little thing of Jérémie and Aélita working on the Overcube and led to this colab. About a week later, and we had a story outline written up and a month later we had the story done.

ODD: You? Did a colab with someone?

AN: Yes Odd, I colabed on a story.

ODD: But you're… you're a hermit! You don't talk to anyone!

AN: I talk to you, don't I?

AÉLITA: It's good for her.

ODD: She's been Xanafied! Don't trust her!


	2. Chapter 2 The Pitch Man

Chapter 2

The Pitch Man

Sissi crossed her legs as she leaned back on her hands, sitting on her father's desk. Quietly she took in the presentation being given before her as an attractive man dressed in a Hugo Boss designer suit with glasses presented a new sports uniform. She threw a glance behind her to check on her father's expression, seeing him sitting with his chin resting on the folded fingers of both hands. A position that Sissi knew as how he made a big decision. On the other side of her father's desk sat Jim in the folding chair normally used for students coming to see Mr. Delmas. He sat with an arm resting on the edge of her father's antique desk, his head tilted as he looked at the man in front of them.

The flipping of a page turned Sissi's attention back to the man in the expensive suit to see his giant pad of paper had flipped to the next page, showing a line graph.

"As you can see, schools that use our Taiku smart athletic wear see a significant improvement in student athletic performances," Mr. Allen Wenger was saying, motioning to the page he had just revealed. He looked at Jean-Pierre pointedly and said, "Our goal is to make French children the best fit children in all of Europe, but isn't that what we all want?"

"True," Jean-Pierre nodded his head, dropping his hands to sit, folded, on his desk. "And your presentation is very impressive, but I still don't see that we need a uniform here at Kadic Academy."

"I thought you might say that," Mr. Wenger said, leaning down to pick up a small box he had hidden behind the easel. He looked at Jean-Pierre as he walked up to the edge of the desk and asked, "May I?"

Jean-Pierre took his hands off the table, scooting back, to give the man a place to sit the box.

Sissi leaned over as Mr. Wenger opened the box, curious to what was inside.

"I took the liberty of guessing your daughter's size," he threw a glance at Sissi and asked, "Sixty-four centimeter waist?"

Sissi nodded her head, not for once proud of herself for keeping her waist smaller then her age.

Mr. Wenger gave her a smile, "Thought so." He turned his eyes back to the box as he opened it, revealing the first item a black tank top with accents of green. As in the picture he had showed them earlier, the school's tree logo was on the left chest as a heart monitor. "I brought over some samples for you to do a trial run of the technology."

Sissi reached over to touch the shirt only to freeze, remembering her manners in front of a man she had respect for. She looked up at him and asked, "May I?"

"Of course," Mr. Wenger nodded his head.

Sissi pulled out the shirt and held it up to look it over. The fabric felt light and breathable, almost a type of silk. "What did you say the non-electronic parts were made of?" Sissi asked, looking up at him.

"The shirt is a type of material called Dry-Fit," Mr. Wegner offered. "Professional American sports teams have been making their shirts with the material for a few years now but Taiku is the first company to start implanting moderating sensors into the material at a price that most people can afford."

Sissi laid the shirt on her lap and pulled out a pair of black pants. She ran a hand around the waist, looking for the sensors that he said would be there and said, "Are you sure that this is the real thing? I can't find the electronic parts."

"That's the magic of Taiku," Mr. Wenger nodded his head with a smile on his face. Sissi glanced up at him, surprised to find him happy with her criticism, almost as if he was using her question to have another chance at proving how good his product really was. "There are metal fibers woven directly into the fabric, which connect to the motherboard located in the school's logo on the chest. When the entire uniform is worn together, they use your natural body heat to power the system."

Sissi noticed out of the corner of her eye Jim raise the hand he had been resting on the desk as she continued to check out the new cloths.

"You have a question, Mr…"

"Morales," Jim said, dropping his hand back to the desk. "I just don't see why we should introduce this in the middle of the school year. It'll disrupt the student's routine. Shouldn't we wait until break, get some input from parents-"

"I see your concern," Mr. Wenger said, cutting Jim off from what more he wanted to say. "But that gives us a natural experiment. We can directly compare athletic performance before and after the adoption of Taiku and use that information to make a decision."

Sissi sat the pants in her lap, on top of the shirt, and pulled out the socks that sat in the bottom of the box. She stole a glance at the three men before kicking off her shoe and quickly pulling her own sock off to put the new on one.

"I still don't know," Jean-Pierre admitted, shaking his head.

"Oh I just love how this fabric breaths," Sissi exclaimed, looking at the black sock now on her foot. She moved her toes in a wave before turning to look at her father sitting behind her. "Can we just try it, Daddy? Please?" Sissi asked, giving him a face she knew he couldn't say no to.

Jean-Pierre looked at Sissi a moment, taking his normal time to contemplate, before nodding. "Okay. You can wear it in gym class today and if you like it and all goes well, then we'll work on getting it for everyone else."

"Thank you, Daddy!" Sissi exclaimed, leaning over to hug him around his neck. She let go, knowing her father wasn't exactly happy when she hugged him around business people and stole a glance at Mr. Wenger, seeing an amused smile on his face.

"Good heavens, lunch is almost over!" Jean-Pierre exclaimed, getting Sissi to turn back to look at her father who was looking at his watch. "You two better get going."

Sissi quickly threw the new uniform back in the box, tossing in her own sock, before dropping to the floor. She slid her foot back in her shoe as Jim walked passed her to the door. Grabbing the box, she turned to walk out the door Jim held open for her.

"If we're going to perform a trial run, then I'll need you to sign here, here, and here," Mr. Wenger was saying as Sissi rushed from the room.

AN: Once again, it's obvious that I work in a sports shop. Dry-Fit, the material Nike just loves to use. Great for the summer (defiantly where I live where it's 100F and 99% humidity without any rain in sight) just expensive. Cotton shirt that says SPORTS TEAM HERE is normally $28-$30. Dry-Fit shirt that says SPORTS TEAM HERE is normally $40-$45. I'm too cheap for that, send me to the thrift store for my cloths.

ODD: You're lucky you don't have to take your older sister's cloths.

AN: I guess…


	3. Chapter 3 The New Uniform

Chapter 3

The New Uniform

"Della Robbia!" Jim called out, running his eyes over the class of students sitting before him on the grass next to the track.

"Here!"

Jim glanced down at the clipboard he had in his hands, already calling out "Delmas" even though he already knew the girl to be there.

"Present!"

"Florenceau!" Jim called out, looking back at the students before him.

Odd stared at Sissi for a moment before leaning over to Ulrich beside him and asking, "Is it just me, or is Sissi dressed differently today?"

"You expect me to notice stuff like that?" Ulrich defended, looking at his friend as he kept an ear out for when Jim would get far enough in the alphabet for his last name.

"She is. It's Taiku," Jérémie said, his eyes glued to the girl sitting beyond Ulrich.

Ulrich and Odd turned to look at Jérémie, surprise on both of their faces. "But Sissi's terrible at martial arts. Remember when I tried to teach her Pencak Silat?"

"No, not tai chi, Taiku," Jérémie corrected. "I read about them in one of my computer magazines."

"But that doesn't answer the question," Odd pointed out. "What is it?"

"Stern?" Jim's voice called out, interrupting Jérémie for a moment.

"Here," Ulrich called out, giving Jim a glance before looking back at Jérémie.

"It's this brand of smart clothing," Jérémie explained. "They put electronic sensors directly into the fabric to monitor vital statistics and improve athletic performance. But I thought they were really expensive; only professional athletes could afford them."

"My father has connections," Sissi's voice said, turning the three to the girl.

"Did we ask you?" Ulrich asked, eyeing the girl sitting a few students away from himself.

"No, but if you and your friends seem so curious about what I'm wearing, you'll get to be real familiar with it soon," Sissi said, throwing her pony tail over her shoulder.

"Delmas! You, Grandjean, and Klinger are up for the hundred meter!" Jim barked out.

Sissi got to her feet and walked over with the blonde haired girl following close behind.

"Grandjean!" Jim called out, the goth still sitting on the grass talking to Thomas. She visibly jumped at the harsh call of her last name and scrambled to her feet to join the other two girls standing at the ready on the track. Jim pointed his finger up in the air and made the motion of pulling a trigger as he called out, "Go!"

Ulrich turned back to his friends and admitted, "I don't like the sound of this whole 'electronic sensors in the fabric' thing. It sounds like something that Xana could use to attack us."

"Even with it being able to connect to a computer via Bluetooth, there's not much that he could do," Jérémie defended. "There's no motors and the battery it runs off is a 303/357, one of those small button batteries. The worst he could do is make us mildly uncomfortable during gym class."

"Belpois! Stern! Della Robbia! You're up!" Jim called out, getting their attentions.

The three got to their feet and walked over to the starting lines on the track as Odd admitted, "I'm still not convinced. Let's just hope nothing happens."

"Thanks, Odd," Ulrich said, taking up position at his line. "You just jinxed us."

Jim held the stopwatch in his hand as he motioned in the air, similar as before. He simultaneously clicked the stopwatch and pulled his imaginary gun as he ordered, "Go!"

-.-.-.-

Aélita sat in her tower, reading over information about Earth on the screen she had pulled up. A deep feeling resonated within her, getting her to stop reading as she focused on the pulsation. It beat again, coming from the desert sector, as she exclaimed, "Xana!" As she was about to pull up a connection to Jérémie's computer the pulsation disappeared. Not wanting to give any false warnings, she got to her feet and walked out of the tower to investigate.

-.-.-.-

Odd patted at the ground in front of Kiwi, getting the dog to pat his front two paws at Odd's hands. Kiwi quickly jumped forwards to nip at Odd's hand before jumping back, his tail wagging wildly. A knock came from the door, getting Odd to quickly swipe Kiwi up in his arms. He dashed over to his wardrobe and pulled open the bottom drawer, placing Kiwi inside. "Stay right here, my little diggity dog," Odd ordered, placing a finger over his mouth.

Kiwi curled down in his bed, his tail still wagging from the play, as Odd closed the drawer.

Odd jumped to his feet and pulled open the door to find Jim standing there holding two boxes.

"What's this?" Odd asked as Jim handed him the two boxes.

"The new school athletic uniform," Jim said.

"You're joking," Odd said, glancing down to see his full name printed on the top box.

"No," Jim said, all serious. "When am I ever joking?"

"What about when you told me about you being a Navy SEAL?" Odd asked, eyeing his gym teacher.

"I'd rather not talk about that," Jim said. He took a few steps to reveal a push cart full of boxes, all with different names scrawled on the tops as he added, "Anyways, the uniform is going to be mandatory for gym class from now on. Be sure to tell Stern when you see him."

"Will do, Jimbo."

"I told you not to call me that," Jim said over his shoulder as he moved to the next room.


	4. Chapter 4 Disassembly in a Non-Standard

Chapter 4

Disassembly in a Non-Standard Manner

Jérémie sat down the box Jim had just delivered on his desk and reached over to turn his monitor back on. "Sorry about that," Jérémie offered as his screen came back to life. Aélita's face filled the window connecting him to Lyoko as she gave him a smile. "Something about a new uniform."

"Is it unusual to have a gym uniform?" Aélita asked, having overheard Jérémie talking to Jim while the screen had been turned off.

"Not really," Jérémie offered, opening the box. "We had one last year, but it is strange for them to impose a uniform so suddenly." He lifted the shirt out of the box, running a hand over the school logo. "It's incredible to even be holding something this advanced," Jérémie admitted.

"What about me, aren't I advanced?" Aélita asked, a smile playing at her lips.

Jérémie looked at her, his mouth agape as he fought to find the right words. "That's not what I meant. I-uh, that is, it's Taiku…"

"It's ok," Aélita said, letting out a laugh. "I remember you telling me how fascinated you were when you read about them."

Jérémie gave her an embarrassed smile before he sat down in his desk chair. He turned his attention back to the new cloths, pulling out the pants to look them over. "I wonder," he mumbled more to himself. He leaned under his adjacent desk and pulled out a flathead screwdriver.

"Oh, Jérémie," Aélita started, her laughter gone from her voice as Jérémie sat up. He looked at her before she continued. "Earlier today I thought I felt some pulsations. Or, well, I thought I did," she quickly added. She looked away from Jérémie as she admitted, "Maybe I didn't."

"It wouldn't be the first time Xana's playing around with the towers," Jérémie reminded, not wanting the girl to feel bad. He sat down his screwdriver and started typing away at his keyboard. "I'll bring up the tower localization program and see what it finds."

"I visited all four sectors today and couldn't feel it again," Aélita admitted.

"When was it you felt it?" Jérémie asked, letting the program run as he turned his eyes back to the shirt on his desk. He turned the shirt inside out to start and look for how everything was connected.

"About two hours ago, you would've been at dinner," Aélita said.

Jérémie leaned closer to the fabric in his hands, running a finger along a small thread that looked a different color leading from under the school logo down to what he knew to be a sensor for the lower abdomen. Absentmindedly he said, "With it being that long ago, I think he might have just been experimenting."

"Experimenting with what?" Aélita asked. "If he's working on a new way to attack, I'd rather know about it than have to wait and worry."

"Maybe that is his attack," Jérémie offered, going back to the fabric behind the school logo. He grabbed his screwdriver and pulled back the small flap in the fabric to expose the battery compartment, the only plastic in the whole outfit. "It would be psychological warfare, pretty advanced for a computer virus..." Jérémie froze as he realized he had just accidently severed the wire connecting the battery compartment to the rest of the outfit. He could sense Aélita peering out of the screen at him.

"Did you just break the new uniform?"

"I didn't _break_ the uniform, I just," Jérémie fought to come up with the right word, "disassembled it in a non-standard manner. I can fix it." He tossed the shirt over the monitor, hoping to block out her view as he got up to find his soldering kit.

Aélita let out a laugh, trying to turn her head to look passed the limited field of vision she had to follow Jérémie's actions.


	5. Chapter 5 Why Are You Hitting Yourself

Chapter 5

Why Are You Hitting Yourself

Jérémie took in the sight of the class around him, holding his breath as he prayed Jim didn't want to connect their suits today. The eighth grade class stood in front of the bleachers by the track, all either in the short sleeve shirt and shorts combination Jérémie wore himself or the track suit that had also been included in the box.

"How are you not sweating in that?" Odd asked, looking at Ulrich wearing the track suit.

Ulrich gave his friend a shrug, turning to notice Jim stepping up to the front of the class in a similar track suit. The large man picked up his whistle that hung around his neck to get everyone's attention.

"I am aware that the new uniform is a shiny new thing that everyone wants to talk about, but I guarantee you that this will fade given time," Jim said after he had gained the class's attention. "The purpose of a uniform is to ensure that fellow students will not judge each other on something so shallow and surface-level as their cloths."

Odd's eyes got distracted as a lamppost over the field started flicker. He poked at finger at Ulrich, getting both of his friend's attention towards the light.

"Rather than judge what they put over their skin, they should judge what the contents of that container of skin should hold," Jim said only to flinch at the sound of the light bulb breaking out of the lamppost. He turned to look up at it, letting out a scream as a Spectre poured out of the broken light. The Spectre dropped down onto Jim before he could move out of the way, dropping him to the ground as his limbs began to jerk out of his control.

"What did I tell you?" Ulrich asked as more Spectres dropped out of the broken light and started chasing the fleeing classmates.

Jim got to his feet, his face a mix of panic and confusion as his legs forced him forward. He swiped out a hand as he made his way to the only three of his students that weren't panicking. "What is going on!?" Jim cried out, visibly struggling to control his own movements.

"I know, I know," Jérémie said, looking to their side only to see more of their classmates' uniforms become possessed. He turned to push his friends, managing to push Odd's shoulder, in the other direction as he ordered, "Just run!"

Odd led the way with Jérémie right on his heals as they turned to run to the park only to have Nicholas and Hervé block their path, forcing the two to skid to a stop.

"You just told Jim you know," Nicholas screamed at Jérémie as he and Hervé were forced to make their way towards the three. "Tell us what is going on!"

Odd turned back to glance at Ulrich in time to let out a cry of, "Behind you!"

Ulrich turned just in time to see a Spectre fly directly into his chest. He was forced to the ground as his limbs moved on their own.

Odd started to run over to help his friend only for Jérémie to grab his arm, keeping him back. They watched as Ulrich got to his feet and started punching himself in the face as his legs forced him towards his friends.

"That's new," Odd commented.

"I can't con-ow! Control it! Ow!" Ulrich said, trying to dodge his own hand. "Just run! OW!"

"New or not, it's still Xana," Jérémie said, more to himself. He turned to Odd and said, "We need to get to the factory! Come on!"

The two turned back to where Hervé and Nicolas were making their way to them as Odd quickly lashed out a fist at Hervé and made contact with the boy's face. The inertia struck his head and torso back, but his legs stayed where they were, getting the boy to let out a cry. It was enough of a break to let Jérémie past the two and towards the park. Odd side stepped around a punch from Nicholas only to notice a black streak make contact with his side. He turned in time to see the Spectre float around to the front of his shirt and make contact with the logo, dropping him face first onto the ground. "This is insane!" Odd exclaimed as he was forced to his feet. His body turned, forcing his neck to whip around as he was commanded closer to his friend.

Ulrich noticed Odd making his way to him, still trying to dodge his own fist, when his body froze. He looked at Odd, thinking it might be over already, when his body was forced into the familiar ready stance for Pencak Silat.

-.-.-.-

"…another way is to simply represent the temperature variation by a mathematical function," Mrs. Hertz was saying, turning around with the text book in hand to copy down an equation that Yumi could already see in her own text book. She glanced up at the blackboard and saw the strange set of Greek letters as Mrs. Hertz continued, "For Earth we use the spherical coordinates with the origin-"

"Hey! Della Robbia and Stern got in a fight!" Christophe exclaimed, letting his head phones drop to hang around his neck as he looked out the window.

"What?! No way!" Maïtena exclaimed, jumping to her feet from beside Yumi. "Let me see!"

"Look out the window," Christophe said, turning to the girl. "I'm not stopping you."

Yumi stood up as more of her classmates turned to look outside. She managed to look over Anaïs to see her friends' class had formed a circle around Odd and Ulrich, the two indeed fighting. And she wasn't sure who was winning between the two.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Mrs. Hertz asked, making a way to the windows. She looked out the window, surprise crossing her face.

"Why are they all dressed the same?" Priscilla asked, Yumi remembering she was also a day student.

Yumi's phone gave her a buzz, getting her attention as she stepped back and pulled out the cell.

 **SOS XANA**

Yumi rolled her eyes as she quickly turned and rushed out of the room, bolting it down the hallway. Quickly she made it to the park, slowing down as she reached the man hole to see Jérémie had waited for her.

"I saw the fight going on before I got your text," Yumi said as he knelt down and pulled up the cover. "What's going on?"

"It's the new uniforms," Jérémie admitted, sitting down the man hole cover. "There's a computer code in them and Xana is using it to control everyone."

"And why isn't he controlling you?" Yumi asked, watching him start to go down the hole.

Jérémie look up at her and admitted, "Let's just say that I made some modifications. What I don't get is how this is happening. There aren't any moving parts, this doesn't make sense."

"Whether it makes sense or not, it's happening and we need to stop it," Yumi said, putting her hand on her hip as she eyed her friend. "Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6 Rotation of the Y Axis

Chapter 6

Rotation of the Y Axis

Yumi waited as Jérémie punched in the code to release the lock on the elevator. Jérémie walked out, letting the iron curtain fall back down as he made his way to his chair. Sitting down, he let the chair take him over to the computer, his hands already at the ready. He attached the mike to his ear and started typing away, repositioning it as he said, "Aélita, are you there?"

Aélita's card appeared on screen as she said, "Yes, Jérémie. There's an activated tower in the desert sector."

"I figured as much," Jérémie said, pulling up another window. "I'm sending Yumi to help you."

Yumi walked into the scanner and turned around as Jérémie activated the program. "Transfer Yumi. Scanner Yumi. Virtualization." She found herself falling into the desert, landing with practiced ease. She straightened up to see Aélita running from the white tower she had been in and smiled at the girl.

"Well, there's no time to waste, is there?" Aélita asked as Yumi started running beside the girl.

"The activated tower's to the southwest," Jérémie informed. "Hurry."

The two ran across the platform, heading in the direction Jérémie gave them only to slow to a stop as the ground below them started to shake. "Whoa!" Yumi exclaimed, hearing a similar response out of Aélita as the platform began to tilt to their right. "Jérémie! What's happening!?"

Jérémie stared in disbelieve at the holomap beside him, showing the entire desert sector slowly rotating. "I don't believe it!" Jérémie exclaimed. "Xana's rotating the whole sector!"

"Run!" Yumi ordered, pointing towards the part that was slowly rising above them.

Instead, Aélita ran back towards the tower. Yumi quickly grabbed her and pulled her along as she said over her shoulder, "If you run into the tower, you'll get pinned against the ceiling and you won't be able to get out." Yumi let go of her friend's wrist as Aélita started running on her own. She quickly added, "Our best shot is to try and make it to the other side."

Yumi found herself pushing herself upwards with her hands as much as her feet as the platform tilted farther. Gritting her teeth, she made a jump upwards to an outcropping just above her, getting a grip with her hand as the platform tilted beyond the point of being able to be walked on. A sound turned her attention behind her, as Aélita slipped, her hand reaching for Yumi's ankle only to miss. "NO!" Yumi cried out, watching her friend slip down the vertical platform. She closed her eyes as she put her free hand at her temple, ordering Aélita to stop falling. The girl started to glow a soft white as Yumi's telekinesis took hold, slowing her descent to a holt. Yumi sent Aélita up to the top of the tilting platform, releasing her just as Yumi was starting to run out of energy. She looked up to see Aélita holding out her hand to pull Yumi the last stretch to the edge as the world below them continued to turn. Holding tight to her friend with one hand, Yumi pushed herself the rest of the way up to the edge, getting to her feet as the ground below them continued moving.

"I've got an idea." Aélita dropped down to her knees as she let out a song, holding her hands together.

Yumi noticed a wireframe wall take shape below them on what had been the underside of the sector, the wall solidifying as she ended her song.

Aélita looked over, opening her eyes as she dropped her hands to her side, holding on to the edge of the platform. She threw a smile up at Yumi before swinging her legs over to the side and calling out, "Geronimo!" dropping down the side as it rotated more into a slide for her.

Yumi quickly followed her friend, sliding down the turning slope to land on the newly created wall. She landed next to Aélita and found herself forced to balance with a foot on the new wall and a foot on what had been the underside of the platform. They stayed there as the platform rotated enough that Yumi had her hand on the new wall and both feet on what was now the top of the platform. "Did it stop?" Yumi asked, looking around them only to see the rocky outcropping that was normally just the underside of the platform. She glanced at Aélita and said, "I think it stopped."

"All's quiet on my end," Jérémie's voice said, getting the two to look up at the sky. "But the tower's to the south _east_ now."

"Let's go," Yumi said, leading the charge to the southeast with Aélita running behind her. Quickly they made it to the southeast of the desert, slowing down to look around. "I don't get it," Yumi said, turning to look at Aélita. "This is where he said the tower should be, but there's nothing here."

"Oh no," Aélita said, her face falling.

"What is it?"

"It's not just that one platform," Aélita said, motioning back the way they had come. "Xana flipped the entire desert sector upside-down!" She looked back at Yumi as she added, "There's no way to get to the tower…"

"And no way to get you back to Earth," Jérémie added.

"What do we do now?" Yumi asked, walking over to the edge to look over only to see the Digital Sea below her.

"Right now you need to get ready for battle," Jérémie said, panic in his voice, "'Cause you've got company incoming!"

Yumi turned at the sound of beating wings, drawing out her fans as five Frôlions flew at them. She dashed to block a laser aimed at Aélita, gritting her teeth at the lack of cover on the underside of the world.

AN: It's weird to be trying to keep to the 22 minute format the show was constricted to. Defiantly since right now I'm also working on a Christmas story for these guys that has crossed 100 pages in word. Keep in mind that I use size 12 font and no extra spacing. If I wanted to get the last chapter out before the end of the year, I would've had to already have started posting it with my 1 a week posting schedule. It has just gotten to the third notebook in the real world. I'm so proud cause it's the first story I've ever had that ran that long and kept the same main story line through-out it all. Even with Harley I have each book being three "episodes".

ODD: But it's may? You're already working on the Christmas story?

AN: I want to get it done in enough time to be able to go through it and make sure everything's right.

ODD: But it's MAY.

AN: And I wanna be posting it in November and December, though I think it'll have to run into January. That's not too bad since the story goes through Christmas and New Year's.

ODD: BUT IT'S MAY

AN: I've got that Odd!


	7. Chapter 7 Xana: The Puppeteer

Chapter 7

Xana: The Puppeteer

"What kinda attack is this!?" Ulrich asked as he was force to punch Odd in the side of the head, forcing his friend to fall face first into the grass. He felt his leg be pulled back, ready to kick at Odd's fallen form as Odd was pulled backwards. "How does this help Xana take over the world, exactly?"

"Why are you asking MEEE!" Odd cried out, his body being whipped around to roundhouse kick Ulrich in the side. He managed to get a glimpse at the horrified faces that were surrounding them, noticing Sissi struggling to move herself forward along with Jim.

"Ulrich! How can we stop this?!" Sissi cried out.

"Because this is like something that you would come up with when you're bored and should be studying for finales!" Ulrich said, wincing at the new pain in his side. He was brought forward, his hands grabbing at Odd's wrists to flip the boy to the ground.

"Jim! What is the meaning of this!" Jean-Pierre called out as he and Mrs. Hertz came over to the crowd. Jean-Pierre reached for Jim, grabbing the man's shoulder to turn him to face him. "Just because we got new uniforms does _not_ mean that you have a license to blend your Penack Silat program with the regular gym class!"

Jim jerked around so that his whole body faced Jean-Pierre as Hervé and Nicholas were forced to grab Jean-Pierre's arms. Jean-Pierre let out a sound, looking at the two students with shock.

"It's not us doing this, Mr. Delmas!" Jim tried. "Honest! The uniforms are moving on their own! They're possessed!"

"I find that highly improbable," Mrs. Hertz said, crossing her arms over her chest to look at the man with discontent.

Jim found himself stepping into a boxer's stance, his hands brought up to his chest before his left hook was sent straight for Jean-Pierre's face. Jean-Pierre's body turned with the force of the punch, sending him to the ground as Sissi called out, "Daddy!"

Jim looked over at Mrs. Hertz, terror on his face and tears welling up in his eyes. "Run, Suzanne," Jim tried, his voice hoarse when he wanted it the most. He saw her break out of her trance and turned around, throwing a glance back over her shoulder as Jim said, "I don't want you to see me like this." He managed to watch her run back into the science building as she pulled out her cell phone.

"Police!" Mrs. Hertz said into the phone, holding onto it with both hands as she turned to look behind her again. She saw Nicholas and Hervé holding Jean-Pierre the ground as Jim turned back to the fight going on in the center of the circle of students. "There's a horrific incident happening at Kadic Academy!"

Jim found himself forcing his way through the group to stand at the edge, seeing Odd was receiving a punch to the gut, sending him down on his butt. "Come on, Della Robbia! Don't let Stern beat you that eas- What am I saying!?"

Odd felt himself being brought back up to his feet by the cloths only to find Ulrich's hands around his neck. Finding something to be thankful for, he realized Xana had no control over Ulrich's thumbs. "I have an idea!" Odd exclaimed, his own hands coming up to grapple with Ulrich's neck. In the back of his mind, he realized that in any normal circumstance, it would look like the two were trying to dance. "If our hands are free, let's try and get these cloths off."

"You do realize, I don't have any other cloths on under this tracksuit, right?" Ulrich said, his arms trying desperately to try and block off Odd's trachea.

"Neither do I," Odd said, moving his head as far back as he could as he started feeling pressure in his neck. "But we don't exactly have any other options."

Ulrich looked like he was thinking for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright."

Odd took a breath and leaned his head towards Ulrich's face. He felt Ulrich grab hold of the collar of Odd's shirt with his teeth and quickly tugged backwards. Odd pushed himself as far away from Ulrich as he could manage, his shoulders stuck where they were as Ulrich ripped at the left shoulder. The fabric started tear at the pressure as Ulrich pulled his head back.

Odd found his left arm going limp and quickly pulled it away from Ulrich. "Wait! The logo!" Odd exclaimed, looking down at the front of his shirt to see a tear in the top of the tree. "The logo on the chest must be where the computer stuff is. It's like the eye on Xana's monsters! If you destroy that, you disable the whole thing!"

Ulrich continued to pull at the piece he had gripped in his teeth as Odd reached up and aided in the pull. Odd found he had control over his other hand and stepped back, free of the control as Ulrich spit out the cloth in his mouth.

"Finally! I'm gonna do you now," Odd said, reaching towards the zipper on Ulrich's jacket only to get an electric shock that sends him back on his butt.

"It's too risky," Ulrich said, his feet being moved towards his friend. "Go!"

Odd gave a look at Ulrich before scrambling to his feet. He quickly turned around and ducked his head as he started to fight his way through his classmates. He managed to break free, a few feet trying to trip him up as he dodged a punch from Naomi. Odd ran towards the park, throwing a glance behind him only to notice Ulrich was now running after him.

AN: Odd, count yourself lucky. I wanted to have the uniform's motherboard in the waist band. That would've meant you would've had to take off both the shirt and the pants to have full control.

ODD: What!?

AN: You were the only one that made since to have that happen to, since you did almost pull your pants down in front of everyone to see if you were growing a tail.

ODD: But, still!

AN: Blame my younger self for falling for you in high school. TheArchivis offered to change it so that everything was in the tree logo, to keep it simple. At least we still get to see you bare chested. ^^

ODD: I'm 14, woman!

AN: I was younger than you when I fell for you. You'd be 27 this year, or round a bout. Man it's weird. The End Battle would've taken place a couple of years ago! I've still gotta re-work that story. It's gonna be 10 times better now that I'm gonna have it connected to the Christmas story.


	8. Chapter 8 Rescue Box

Chapter 8

Rescue Box

Yumi threw her fan up at the Frôlion, dodging as a laser rained down at her feet. She got to see her fan slicing through the bug before coming back to her outstretched hand. She threw a glance back to where she knew Aélita was taking cover behind an outcropping, making sure nothing was shooting at the girl.

"I have to give it to him," Aélita said, looking up from her crouched position to look towards the sky. "Xana really has us boxed in this time."

"Boxed…" Jérémie mumbled. "Box! That's it!"

"He's lost it," Yumi mumbled, flicking her fan up quick to deflect a laser. She threw the fan from her right hand out and killed one of the Frôlions. She looked around, wondering what happened to the rest, before running back to Aélita.

"I heard that, but I might just have something that can save us here," Jérémie said, keystrokes sounding away.

Yumi stopped next to her friend as Aélita stood up, a white featureless cube materializing in front of them. Aélita let out a laugh, covering her mouth. "What is that?" Yumi asked, eyeing her friend. "You clearly know what it is."

"Something Jérémie and I have been working on in our spare time," Aélita offered, dropping her hand though the smile stayed on her face.

"But what is it?" Yumi asked, motioning to the strange floating cube before them.

"Something to facilitate faster transportation on Lyoko," Jérémie explained. "But the important part right now is that it can _fly_. Use the cube to get underneath the platform to reach the tower."

"There is no way that I can fly that thing," Yumi said, eyeing the cube.

"I've been working on modifications to make it more user-friendly," Jérémie said, rapid fingers sounding like a strange thunder to those on Lyoko. "Let me see what I can do."

The girls watched as the cube flattened out, enlarging until it looked more like a large skateboard. Yumi carefully stepped onto the board and let out a scream as it quickly shot her off towards the edge of the platform. The missing Frôlions gave chase, seeing their chance to attack.

"How are you supposed to control this thing?!" Yumi exclaimed, doing what she could to keep her balance.

"You lean in the direction and it goes there," Aélita called out, quickly ducking back behind her hiding place to prevent the monsters from seeing her.

Yumi saw the Digital Sea coming up fast and tried to do as Aélita said, leaning backwards to try and stop it. Instead of coming to a stop, she found herself going backwards. She turned her head to watch where she was going only to make contact with a Frôlion that had tried to chase her as the bug shot at her. In a serious of explosions, Yumi found herself being devitalized as the vehicle and monster both met their end.

Yumi opened her eyes to find herself curled up in the scanner. She made a fist as her frustration had to come out, banging it against the floor. She pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the ladder, quickly making her way up to the lab. She slid open the port and pulled herself up to the floor, looking up to see Jérémie eyeing her.

"It's like a skateboard," Jérémie said. "You ride a skateboard to the factory all the time. How could you not drive the cube?"

Yumi pushed herself to her feet, mumbling, "I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

Jérémie turned back to the screens as he asked, "Aélita, how're you holding up?"

Aélita peeked over her hiding spot only to quickly dodge as the three remaining Frôlions fired at her.

"Aélita?" Jérémie asked again, worry evident in his voice.

"I'm still here," Aélita said, finding herself moving around her hiding rock as the Frôlions tried to circle around her. "But there's not much that I can do."

"I can at least send you the board again," Jérémie offered.

Aélita glanced behind her as the board appeared. She threw a look back up at the monsters only to drop towards the ground as a laser flew where her head had been moments ago.

"This is ridicules," Aélita growled. "These stupid Frôlions won't let me get close to it."

Jérémie dropped his head onto his keyboard as panic started making its home in him. "Yumi can't be revirtualized, Odd and Ulrich are beating each other to death, and I can't virtualize myself," Jérémie said, looking up at the map on his screen to show him Aélita was doing her best against the three Frôlions. "What options do we have?"

Yumi laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to give some comfort but found she had none to give.

The elevator opened, turning the two to look at it only to see Odd standing there, without a shirt.

"What?" Odd asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. "What are you looking at?"

"I don't even wanna know," Jérémie said, turning back to his computer. "Just get to the scanners."

Odd pushed the button to close the door, giving Yumi a two finger salute with his free hand as the elevator closed on him. He quickly was sent down to the scanner room and stepped into the scanner, turning around as the doors closed on him.

"Transfer Odd. Scanner Odd. Virtualization."

Aélita looked up as Odd's form started taking shape, getting the Frôlions' attentions as well.

Odd fell to the ground, landing beside Aélita just as the three bugs took aim. Dodging their lasers, he glanced at the board and asked, "What's with the new furniture, princess?"

"It's something Jérémie and I've been working on," Aélita quickly explained. "It's like a skateboard."

"Cool," Odd said, smiling as he stood straight. "Let me try!" He hopped onto the board and flew upwards, going directly at a Frôlion. He gripped a paw around his wrist as he took aim, letting out a cry of "Laser arrow!" The arrow flew directly at the monster, killing it on contact as Odd flew around to aim again. He looked up at the sky, letting his hands fall a bit as he said, "This is amazing! Why didn't you tell me about this thing?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Jérémie admitted. "The past is the past."

"Where's the tower?" Odd asked, taking a look around him before aiming at a Frôlion. Quickly taking out its life points, he flew down to be closer to Aélita to protect her from the last bug.

"That's why we needed the flying machine," Jérémie admitted. "Xana flipped the entire desert sector upside-down. The tower's underneath you now."

"Gotcha," Odd said, taking aim to the last Frôlion. He quickly dodged out of the way of its laser before calling out, "Laser arrow!" His shot made short work of the monsters as he flew around the sky before dropping down to stop next to Aélita. Holding out his hand in a bow, he said, "Your tower awaits."

Aélita jumped onto the board, holding on to Odd's waist. They flew down and around the platform to find the tower sticking out of the ground like a stalactite.

-.-.-.-

Yumi turned in surprise as the elevator opened to reveal Ulrich.

"Yumi!" Ulrich cried out as his body moved on its own, bringing him into the lab.

Yumi quickly dropped into the familiar stance, her hands at the ready as Ulrich made his way closer to Jérémie.

"Hurry!" Jérémie said into the mike, his eyes frozen on Ulrich. "Ulrich just got here!"

-.-.-.-

Aélita walked off of the board and through the towers roots, the gravity in the tower correcting her as she fell upwards. The tower caught her as she reached the second platform and landed on her feet. The control panel appeared in front of her as she stopped in the center, as it asked her for the code. Lyoko filled in the space it belonged as Aélita looked around her at the code in the tower as it started to be cleared out of Xana's virus. "Tower Deactivated," Aélita said.

-.-.-.-

Ulrich fell to his knees, relief evident on his face as his tracksuit no longer had control over him.

Yumi dropped down beside him, ready to make sure he was alright.

Jérémie typed furiously at the keyboard in front of him as he ordered, "Return to the past, now!" He hit the enter key, ordering the bubble of bright light to expand out from the holospear and cover the world, turning back time.

AN: I almost wish Yumi had to fight Ulrich. It wouldn't've been the first time the spared but the first time Yumi would've had to really defend herself from him. Xana wouldn't be holding anything back.

ODD: You just want to watch us all die, don't'cha?

AN: Me and Odd (his nickname, not you) were working on a story that killed everyone off. Xana was slowly picking everyone off, Aélita getting killed terminator style as a liquid metal came out of her computer and stabbed her in the head, Yumi getting burnt alive. I think that's as far as we got 'cause I graduated. I still have it somewhere in Ulrich's flash drive.

ODD: You're a crazy person! Someone! Let me out! I don't want to be in the head of a crazy person!

DANNY: Don't bother, Odd.

HARLEY: No one listens to us, Odd.

ODD: We're all heroes in here and no one can break free of her mind?

HARLEY: Well… she is my mother…

ODD: Ok, so we leave the original kid.

AN: I love when they want to revolt. Fights of Figments of Imagination, such an interesting battle of freedom.


	9. Chapter 9 Special Skills

Chapter 9

Special Skills

Sissi crossed her legs as she leaned back on her hands, sitting on her father's desk.

"As you can see, schools that use our Taiku smart athletic wear see a significant improvement in student athletic performances," Mr. Allen Wenger was saying, motioning to the page he had just revealed. He had opened his mouth to continue to speak when the office door opened.

"Sorry for the interruption," Mrs. Weber said as she walked into the room. She handed Jean-Pierre a sheet of paper, throwing a look at the man that she had interrupted before promptly making her exit.

Sissi leaned back to look at the paper in her father's hands, surprise making her eyebrows raise.

"My word, Mr. Wenger," Jean-Pierre said, looking up at the man before him. "These uniforms aren't yours!"

"Excuse me?" Mr. Wenger asked, his ever present smile faltering.

"You heard me," Jean-Pierre said, sitting the paper on his desk to reveal it was a patent for the designs the man was showing in the office. He pushed himself to his feet and looked at the man. "You're a fraud. I have no business to do with you. Good day."

Mr. Wenger opened his mouth to disrepute the claim only to close his mouth and give a polite nod to the man. Silently he collected his boxes and easel and left the room, pulling open the cracked office door with his foot. Walking through the secretary's office he found the door out to be held open by Jérémie, the boy giving him a smile. Mr. Wenger eyed the boy cautiously before walking out, Jérémie following him out of the administrative building.

Jérémie left the man and turned towards the vending machines where his friends waited for him.

"How'd you manage that?" Ulrich asked, watching the man walk the path towards the parking lot.

"Let's say that I have some special skills," Jérémie said, the smile still on his face. The smile faltered as he turned back to his friends. "Anyway, now that the cat's out of the bag about the vehicle project, any suggestions?"

"That board is impossible to control!" Yumi exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I liked it," Odd offered. "Though you need to make it match my style."

"What style? Two shades of purple with cat ears?" Ulrich asked.

Odd let out a laugh that quickly became contagious.

END

AN: Odd, I'm sorry for calling you a figment of imagination. Are you mad at me still?

ODD: For trying to kill me? Yes.

AN: As far as I remember, you hadn't gotten killed in that story.

ODD: Yet!

AN: True. Jérémie was going to be the only one to survive. Needed someone to get desperate and try the return to the past. They never went back in time while Xana had activated a tower and I wanted to know what would happen if they did. Also it would pull at the theory Yumi had that if anyone died and they went back in time, they would still be dead. That theory got put into Changing the Tides.

ODD: So have you stopped trying to kill me?

AN: I could never kill you, Odd.

ODD: Oh.

AN: Hope you enjoyed this little story written with TheArchivis. Check out his script version of this story.


End file.
